Day 21, Sydney to Mildura
Barmah Lakes reed beds
Date: Monday November 4th 2024
Project:ÌýEastern Australian Waterbird Survey
°¿²ú²õ±ð°ù±¹±ð°ù²õ: John Porter (NSW DPE), Ricahrd Kingsford (UNSW)
±Ê¾±±ô´Ç³Ù: Thomas Clark
A heavily overcast day with plenty of haze is the order of the day as we depart Sydney to head south west along the floodplain of the Murray River and eventually counting to the mouth of the river in South Australia and the huge Lakes Alexandrina and Albert and the amazing estuarine wetlands of the Coorong. We always look forward to this leg of the survey program because there are often huge numbers of waterbirds and spectacular breeding colonies of ibis, cormorants, terns and Pelicans.
After a quick fuel stop at Albury we are on our way - visibility is much improved but the temperatures are climbing and the conditions begin to get rough at the low levels we operate at. Today it feels a bit like being in a washing machine while trying to navigate, photograph and count birds. On Lake Mulwala we locate a small colony of Pelicans and ibis breeding on an island – they are in the same location in most years so it is a regular breeding ground.
Lake Mulwala
Lake Mulwala
Our next focus is on Barmah-Millewa. This is a Ramsar wetland and the largest remaining river red gum forest in the world. Most of the large reed bed areas are flooded and there are moderate numbers of birds – mainly Pelicans, comorants, BLack Swans, ibis and egrets. The are a small number of Australian White and Straw-necked Ibis starting to breed.
Barmah Millewa reed beds
Barmah Millewa reed beds
Moira Lake
Moira Lake
From Barmah we head to another internationally significant Ramsar wetland – the flood plain forests of Gunbower Koondrook Perricoota. ÌýConditions are dryer than the previous two flood years with some water in deeper floodplain billabongs and swamps although many are drying back. We find only low numbers of waterbirds – mainly cormorants, Darters, Pelicans and herons.
Hattah Lakes National Park
The temporary (episodic) wetlands of Hattah Kulkyne National Park (also a Ramsar Wetland) are our next target. ÌýNatural intermittent cycles of flooding and drying are essential in these semi arid wetlands and help drive the ecological processes that enable waterbird breeding, fish spawning and red gum and black box recruitment.
Most of the wetlands in this system were still holding water but were drying back; they supported relatively low numbers of waterbirds – chiefly Pelicans, cormorants, Darters and Grey Teal. Paradoxically one of the lakes had more than five hundred Grey Teal – a nice way to end the days counting before heading to Mildura for the evening.